June 19 - Yorktown

Yesterday was the first English settlement - today was the Revolutionary War. Yorktown is the site where the last major battle was fought. The French blockaded the bay and the Americans blockaded the land. The British could not escape. They surrended in October 1781. We visited the old town and the Victory Center where they have recreated an army encampment and a farm. We were astounded by the crude tools the army surgeon worked with. I would not have liked to have had any dental work done. The barracks kitchen was interesting. Dug into the ground to reduce wood usage and retain heat. We watched the firing of a musket and a mortor cannon. Rob really enjoyed the farm kitchen. Yet again the cooking was genuine and I could see that the employees were ready to get down to eating the fruits of their labor. The tobacco in the storage house smelt so good. The chickens were laying eggs in their coop and the turkeys were wonderfully fat. One old lady was all too happy to have us hold her wood while she tried to chisel out a spoon. It was going to take a long time before it was ready to use in the soup bowl. She was also preparing flax so it could be spun into thread.

By the time we returned to the campground we were exhausted. Mom slept, I blogged and the boys went to the library. They did not even want to swim. The evening ended with a wonderful lightning display and a great downpour. We had a light dinner and then for dessert we made corn bread (remember the corn ground at the mill in West Virginia) and coated it with honey - Wonderful to know where the food we are eating, came from.